Collapsible floral rack



Jan. 10, 1950 c. o. GlPsoN coLLAPsIBLE FLORAL RACK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 25, 1946 v isatentedl Jan. 1U,

UNI-iran 4ssen corporatohbf Indi'ila Application-September 25, 1-94`6, Serial No. fzioliiims. (c1. eren-57.83

to provide a floralyack'emboelying a "lazv tongsf mechanism wherein l the slide members of the mehsnin enst'gelihe forwroiocoo or ,edgesof the prongs adswingall of the prongs to the closed position duringcollapsing movement of the rookfiiiiirobi" tof. iho,..inrniion-renioos in Pro.-.. v iding argroovein the frontface of each harof the raclextending -'1ongitudinaly thereof, includifig prongs hinge-d tothe bars withinthe grooves wherein a portion of the slide members of thev 'more' specific ofhject of the invention pertains to `a "floral'ack embd'ving a lazy tongs mechanisr 'for 'facilitating 'the ektensionand folding of the rack' with this membersthereof so dimenf sedand so 'pivt'ed that ithe sliding elements of the "lefty "tongisv assembly will engage the prongs and them to a closed Aposition upon collapsing movementA of the rack.A

Othr objects and featuresof the invention will oerfioreV apparent as the present disclosure -procds and upon wconsider :ition of theaccompanywd'ravlinfgs and the following detailed descriptf 'wherein an rriloodiinent of the invention is .irsooiiioiiiv ,of ,ai portion .of ble floral -rack embodying the invention.

lzis an', collap one of the rack bars showing a prong hingedly 'Figi'.l liis a longitudinal sectional view of one Fig. -5 is a sectional view of a dtail taken on menne s-s-of Fiat.

Theginventionis4 bi'r'ctd somewhat like an easel and vwhich may b'op'd'r 'eit'ndd so as to provide a 'rat-,ls structure of a considerable facial area. The

meer the mese jof the sies-estiment@ s Fig "is a. side elevational (dew of a. portionpf dlrectedyto a rack which mayVV 2 @bis 'eiiisn So-ollo Y i1/ary iones oonstrliotion, per tting the ope r iin'g thereofto an exiended, non .for oso end ,wnionmaybo Coiionood $9 tintin@ bars inorooi movl-ie ,Closely oslioceni. eefihiiiii nnjd vnrovifio @Componi assombiv for Convenience. in storage and.. ironsnortof fion- A .ohnraiorisiiofoeinro Orino inventionA nri'ninsio ino ,Swinging of the prongs carried4 by. .the bars of inor'ook io ailofsed. or a neutral (irai/,ings and includono:olnralitvoibors HJ ,Whiih oro; arranged: ,inaisulostantally v mirollol relation-.-

l SiiiP- Any, numboroi oarslllmayboornploye'd in iiioiak in ncor noo. with the desired `di.- mensions of thejdevice andthe selected spacing q f the barsjn theextended or Aopen position of the rack. The rack structure is primarily deg- .Sisnod .for supporting. apiorolitv of floral nieces onjtnofqrward ,fooothereot and. the. bars., In are accordingly S,n.rir. r.tf .i.in the more orless vertical positiornY somewhat-likean easel. Ihe harness or .the Syrinsolole Straps orarms of the flazv tongs mechanism in the embodiment illustrated; in the drawing fare arrangedover the forward.

face of a rack but may, ,without altering the characteristic features of the invention, be positioned at the hack of the bars I0, The lazy tOiigSf mechanism includes ja plurality of strapsv Il and( I2 whichare pivoted, at their lower ends tothe bars |0. vThe straps Il are connected by rivets pr the Vlike to the bars I0 and the lower,

ends of some of these-pvot pins or rivets I4 also pivotally secure the adjacent ends of the straps 1 2 tothebars l0'. The'lower ends of the straps lj and |72 are c accor iirlgly 'attached tothe bars lo and are therefore Yfixedly secured Ato these bars but are'ireo to Swinsfa'boutthe pivots I4, thereby, permitting an extension-of the rack to a position as shown in Fig. 1.

The upper ends ofthestraps Il and l2` are( free tomove long-itudinallvofl the rack structurer:

and Yitis for this purposethat the, upper .ends of .these membersW-vare V.pivotally attached to slide members Ihese slidemembersl may loe of any ,Suitable :Shoneor typo, and in the embodif ment illnstratedin the drawings, comprise sleeves which embrace the jba}rs i0 vin suchla manner as Ato permit free sliding movement vof each sleeve ontheassociatpdbar. Iheupper ends of the straps and l2 are hinged tcthe slide members bvm'eanspf pivot pins 01;, rvets nsuch as shown at I 1 in the drawings. ,The slide members I5 ,may 15e fprmedometalyand fone characteristic, 55

feature of the invention pertains to the fact that :A Yaoi; exhibiting th invention is shown lnfthe' 3 each slide member overlies the forward face 20 of the associated bar l0, and the purpose thereof will be more clearly understood as the present disclosure proceeds.

A further feature of the invention pertains to the mounting of the prongs which are shown at 2| in the drawings. The prongs 2| are pivotally attached to the bars I in any suitable manner such as by means of rivets 22 which extend transversely through the bars I0. The prongs 2| are freely rotatable about the pivots or rivets 22 and therefore swing to outward positions by action of gravity when the rack bars l0 are in a substantially vertical position. The prongs are prevented from swinging outwardly from the faceV of the bars l by more than a ninety degree movement so that the prongs will be maintained in position to support various articles thereon such as floral pieces or the like. It is for this purpose that the inner ends of the prongs 29 are angular shaped as shown at 29 in Fig. 4. The angular ends 29 engage the bar l0 and arrest further outward swinging of the prongs.

A characteristic feature of the invention pertains to the position of the prongs 2| with reference to the pivots |4 and the length of the straps and I2 so that a slide member I6 moving lengthwise of the associated bars I0 will engage the forward edge 24 of the prong 2| and thereby swing the prong about the pivot 22 into `closed position. In Fig. 4 the straps and |2 are shown in the position these members assume upon collapse of the rack with the bars ||l lying adjacent each other, and it will be noted that the portion of the slide member I6 which overlies the forward face of the bar ||l engages the forward edge 24 of the prong 2| Vduring the sliding movement thereof so as to swing the prong 2| to the closed or neutral position.

In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, the pivot pins or rivets 22 need not be provided with fiat ends flush with the lateral faces of the bars VHl, since each slide member |6 is provided with a lip'26 which extends upwardly beyond the top end of the sleeve and thereby does not engage nor overlie the ends of the rivets 22 as shown in Fig. 4. The lips 26, however, are of sufficient length so as to engage the forward edges of the prongs 2| and swing the prongs to a closed position and maintain these prongs in the closed position while the rack is collapsed. In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, each bar IIJ is provided with a groove 28 in the forward face thereof which extends lengthwise of the bar. The bars |0 are then substantially U-shaped incross section as shown in Fig. 5.

VIn this embodiment the prongs 2| are mounted within the groove 28 so that the pivot pin 22 extends through the legs of the U-shaped channel bars. The end of each prong 2| adjacent the pivot pin 22 is angularly shaped and this angular end engages the bottom of the groove 28 to limit the outward swinging of the prong to a position substantially as shown in Fig. 2 When the prong is automatically pivoted to the closed position as shown in Fig. 4, the prongs will lie within the grooves 28 and in the completely neutral positions of the prongs, the forward edges 24 are substantially flush with the forward face 2U of the bars l0.

YThe Yeasel structure for maintaining the rack in an erected position includes a plurality of bars 3| which are hinged to some of the bars I0 by means of brackets shown at 32 in the drawings. The bars 3| may be maintained in an easel-like supporting position by means of arms 34 which are hinged at 4| to the bars I0 and pivotally connected to slide members 36 which may be moved lengthwise on the bars 3|. The

' easel assembly also includes lazy-tong straps 38 and 39 which permit the easel structure to be extended and collapsed along with the rack proper.

When it is desired to erect the rack for supporting articles to be displayed on the forward face thereof, the bars l0 are moved from each other into the open position somewhat as illustrated in Fig. 1. The bars I0 in moving away from each other are maintained in substantially parallel relationship by reason of the lazy-tong straps and |2 and the slide members I6 move downwardly on the bars l0 and accordingly retreat from the prongs 2|. Thus when the bars are erected in a substantially vertical position, the prong 2| swings outwardly to the position illustrated in Fig. 2 where the angularly shaped ends 29 engage the bottoms of the grooves 28 and arrest further swinging movement of the prongs to thus maintain them in article-supporting positions.

The bars l0 are maintained in the substantially vertical position by swinging the easel bars 3| outwardly to the positions shown in Fig. 1 and the arms 34 are moved downwardly about the pivots 4| so as to maintain the easel in a'position to support the rack. During the extension of the rack or during the movement of the bars I0 from each other, the lazy-tong straps 38 and 39 of the easel assembly permit the bars 3| to move away from each other and accordingly permit the easel to assume an extended position. The floral pieces or other articles to be supported on the face of the rack may then be supported on the`A prongs 2| and it will be noted that the straps'll and |2 are positionedrunder rthe prongs 2| in such a manner as to prevent the oral pieces or the like from swinging backwardly to the spaces intermediate the bars |0.

Thereafter, when itis ydesired to collapse the rack into a compact assembly, the bars Il may be moved toward each other and slide members Iraccordingly move longitudinally of the bars l0. The slide members I6 `and that portion thereof over the forward face of the bars l0 engage the forward edges 24 of theprongs and swing the prongs about the pivots 22, whereby the forward edges lie ,along the face of the bars I0. In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, the lip portions 26 of the slide members forward edges of the prongs and swing these prongs 2| into thegrooves`28. The easel assembly may be folded against the rear lface of the rack proper prior to the collapsing operation thereof i or after the rack has been collapsed. .During the collapsing movement of the vrack proper, the' easel bars 3| likewise are moved'to positions adjacent each other, and maintained inY parallel relationship by reason ofthe flaZy-tong straps 38 and 39. Y

It will be noted that the prongs of the present rack structure move freely tol the extended ork article-supporting position' by the action of gravity, and these prongs are pivotally moved to inoperative position upon closure of the rack so that the prongs are moved to the neutral positions regardless of the position of the rack during the, collapsing mOvement. Likewise, the prongs 2| are maintained in the neutral positions regardlessrof the position ofn the rack'after it 'has been collapsed; Y

I6 engage the While the invention has been described with reference to the specific structural details, it will be understood that various changes may be made in the device, such as the shape of the prongs and. the number of bars, and in the organization of the lazy-tong mechanism. Such modifications may be made Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention which is characterized by a slide member of a lazy tongs" mechanism engaging a prong and moving it to the closed position during the collapsing movement of the rack structure.

I claim:

1. In a collapsible floral rack, a plurality of substantially parallel bars, a prong hinged to each bar and adapted to lie iiush with the forward face of said bar and to swing outwardly to an article-supporting position when the rack is erected for use, a sleeve surrounding and slidable on each bar and overlying the forward face of said bar, crossed straps constituting lazy tongs attached at one end to said bars to pivot about fixed points thereon, pivots connecting the other ends of the straps to said sleeves, and the length of said straps and the position of said hinged prongs being such that when the bars are moved towards each other the sleeves engage the forward edge of said prongs and swing the same to a position along said bars.

2. In a, collapsible floral rack, a plurality of substantially parallel bars, each of said bars having a longitudinal groove in the forward face thereof, a prong hinged to each bar and adapted to lie within the groove thereof `and to swing outwardly to an article-supporting position when the rack is erected for use, a sleeve slidable on each bar, a lip carried by each sleeve and overlying said groove, crossed straps constituting lazy tongs attached at one end to said bars to pivot about fixed points thereon, pivots connecting the other ends of the straps to said sleeve, and the length of said straps and the position of said hinged prongs being such that when the bars are moved towards each other said lips engage said prongs and swing the same into said grooves.

CHARLES O. GIPSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

